Mobile price warsCombined with ever-cheaper smartphones, the new 4G network will swell the number of internet users and prompt those already using data, millions of them on sluggish 2G networks, to upgrade. Indian tycoon pledges free 4G Outside a tiny Reliance store in a trendy Mumbai neighbourhood, residents queued for hours this week for a new SIM card promising free data - and a dramatic reshaping of the Indian mobile landscape.Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, announced his long-awaited Reliance Jio 4G network with an audacious free service for the rest of 2016, followed by vastly cheaper data plans and free voice calls for life.
Anticipating the shake-up, rival Airtel has already slashed 3G and 4G prices by up to 80% while Vodafone has heaped more data into its prepaid tariffs.
Yet analysts say competitors will struggle to match the deep pockets of a startup backed by Reliance Industries, the energy-to-chemicals conglomerate.
“I am hoping Jio can help me bring down my bills while providing unlimited internet usage,” said Pushpraj Yadav, an e-commerce worker in Mumbai who complains he “incurs huge bills” for his data use.
“Competition between Jio and other networks like Airtel is good for consumers.”
India’s mobile market is plagued by patchy reception, frequent call drops, erratic pricing and 3G internet speeds that fluctuate wildly.
“With Reliance Jio, I expect the data charges to be low and the connectivity to be better than other networks,” said Amit Biswas, an Indian navy officer in Mumbai.
“Mobile connectivity in some parts of the country is really bad.”
With his US$20 billion investment in mobile, Ambani is betting on a fast-evolving internet landscape in a country where nearly a billion people are still not online.
Public wifi is scarce and broadband access is weak, with many rural areas lacking the infrastructure to deliver high speeds.
Most of the hundreds of millions of Indians coming online over the next decade will start with smartphones, something being avidly targeted by tech giants Google and Facebook.
NAMPA/AFP